We have just moved into a house with a large garden in Wiltshire and there
seem to be two trees and shrubs bearing ripe plums.

However, I don't want to be poisoned due to incorrect identification. Does
anybody know of a website that provides identification? Are any plum-like
bushes/trees poisonous?

The fruits are round and now ripe.

One plant is bushy, about 10ft high, has oval pointed fine-toothed leaves
about 3cm long. Fruit light-red about size of a cherry. They taste like
plums.

The other is a tree, has oval pointed fine-toothed leaves about 6cm long.
The fruits are bright yellow, twice the size of a cherry. I haven't tried
tasting these.


cheers

Davy

In article ,
Davy wrote:
We have just moved into a house with a large garden in Wiltshire and there
seem to be two trees and shrubs bearing ripe plums.

However, I don't want to be poisoned due to incorrect identification. Does
anybody know of a website that provides identification? Are any plum-like
bushes/trees poisonous?

Effectively not. If you are really paranoid, wait for spring and
use the flowers to check that they are members of the Rosaceae.
Provided that those fruits have plum-like stems and stones, I would
just go ahead.

Don't gorge yourself first time - start with a bite, then a mouthful,
then half a dozen mouthfuls and then what the hell? At a day's
separation. Some of them give some people indigestion.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Davy" wrote in message
om...

We have just moved into a house with a large garden in Wiltshire and there
seem to be two trees and shrubs bearing ripe plums.

However, I don't want to be poisoned due to incorrect identification.
Does
anybody know of a website that provides identification? Are any plum-like
bushes/trees poisonous?


You're right to be worried. In Wiltshire in the past it was often the
habit to plant large trees bearing deadly poisonous fruit, solely for
the purpose of killing off any incomers foolish enough to try eating any.
Dig them up now, while you still have the chance.

Syd

The message
from "Davy" contains these words:

One plant is bushy, about 10ft high, has oval pointed fine-toothed leaves
about 3cm long. Fruit light-red about size of a cherry. They taste like
plums.

Google for 'cherry plum'.

The other is a tree, has oval pointed fine-toothed leaves about 6cm long.
The fruits are bright yellow, twice the size of a cherry. I haven't tried
tasting these.

Sounds like another variety of cherry plum.

Take out a stone from each, crack them, and try the kernels. If they are
bitter and taste a bit of almond, then they are very likely some sort of
plum or bullace. They certainly sound like it.

Or better, ask a neighbour who knew the previous incumbent.

--
Rusty
Emus to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

Dear Master,

I googled 'cherry plum' and it led me to the excellent web site which has a
key for identifying trees and shrubs in summer and winter:
http://www-saps.plantsci.cam.ac.uk/trees/index.htm
which, as you suggested allowed me to identify the trees as cherry plums.
Decorative trees (similar to flowering cherries) with edible but poor fruit.

Regarding your suggestion of cracking the kernels and testing for a bitter,
almond taste, I am afraid that I have read too many Agatha Christies to be
tempted to do that.

Besides, the other respondent, Syd Rumpo, who seems to know more than a
little about local customs, has already given me a useful warning.

thanks

Davy - PS your English is very good for a Frenchman.

"Jaques d'Alltrades" wrote in message
k...
The message
from "Davy" contains these words:

One plant is bushy, about 10ft high, has oval pointed fine-toothed
leaves
about 3cm long. Fruit light-red about size of a cherry. They taste
like
plums.

Google for 'cherry plum'.

The other is a tree, has oval pointed fine-toothed leaves about 6cm
long.
The fruits are bright yellow, twice the size of a cherry. I haven't
tried
tasting these.

Sounds like another variety of cherry plum.

Take out a stone from each, crack them, and try the kernels. If they are
bitter and taste a bit of almond, then they are very likely some sort of
plum or bullace. They certainly sound like it.

Or better, ask a neighbour who knew the previous incumbent.

--
Rusty
Emus to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

On Wed, 14 Sep 2005 15:33:20 +0100, "Davy"
wrote:


Regarding your suggestion of cracking the kernels and testing for a bitter,
almond taste, I am afraid that I have read too many Agatha Christies to be
tempted to do that.

As a child I used to enjoy cracking the stones from plums etc and
eating the nuts. I'm still here! I've never heard of wanything
plum-like which is not edible, or certainly not poisonous. If if
tastes good I'm sure it will be OK to eat, but follow Nick's advice if
you are that cautious. Would the previous owners have grown anything
poisonous do you think? I guess you HAVE read too much Agatha
Christie!!

Pam in Bristol

Don't eat the kernels!
I've worked on a sodium cyanide plant and know the smell, toxicity limits
etc of HCN. The kernels of plums ,apricots etc are used for flavouring jams,
but I read once that some health fiends killed themselves by eating about
40 apple pips(smell the HCN when they are cracked) in a muesli.
The interesting point about cyanide is that if you have a sub-fatal dose you
recover without permanent ill effect.
I once had a sub lethal dose, which had the effect of disorientation. We had
rushed off to the golf course after work and the effect was to double what
was already a poor score for the course.
Regards
David T
"Pam Moore" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 14 Sep 2005 15:33:20 +0100, "Davy"
wrote:


Regarding your suggestion of cracking the kernels and testing for a
bitter,
almond taste, I am afraid that I have read too many Agatha Christies to be
tempted to do that.

As a child I used to enjoy cracking the stones from plums etc and
eating the nuts. I'm still here! I've never heard of wanything
plum-like which is not edible, or certainly not poisonous. If if
tastes good I'm sure it will be OK to eat, but follow Nick's advice if
you are that cautious. Would the previous owners have grown anything
poisonous do you think? I guess you HAVE read too much Agatha
Christie!!

Pam in Bristol

On Wed, 14 Sep 2005 16:35:26 +0100, "david taylor"
wrote:

Don't eat the kernels!
I've worked on a sodium cyanide plant and know the smell, toxicity limits
etc of HCN. The kernels of plums ,apricots etc are used for flavouring jams,
but I read once that some health fiends killed themselves by eating about
40 apple pips(smell the HCN when they are cracked) in a muesli.
The interesting point about cyanide is that if you have a sub-fatal dose you
recover without permanent ill effect.
I once had a sub lethal dose, which had the effect of disorientation. We had
rushed off to the golf course after work and the effect was to double what
was already a poor score for the course.
Regards
David T

Quote from http://www.aboutmead.com/resources/m...9/12-01-99.txt

"Apple seeds average around 0.6 mg hydrogen cyanide (HCN) per gram of
dry seed. Since the lethal dose of HCN is estimated to be about 50 mg,
you need around 85 grams (3 ounces) of dry seeds. This is around half
a cup"

Whether the figures are correct, and whether it takes 40 apple pips to
half-fill a cup, I don't know, but it does suggest that eating a
particularly large number could be lethal.

However, seeds (and leaves) of many prunus species (almonds are the
obvious example) and other rosaceae (such as apples, as here) contain
cyanide precursors. It's what gives almonds their distinct flavour.
But, as with apple pips, you do have to eat rather a lot to be at
risk.


--
Chris

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net

"david taylor" wrote in message
...
Don't eat the kernels!
I've worked on a sodium cyanide plant and know the smell, toxicity limits
etc of HCN. The kernels of plums ,apricots etc are used for flavouring
jams,
but I read once that some health fiends killed themselves by eating about
40 apple pips(smell the HCN when they are cracked) in a muesli.
The interesting point about cyanide is that if you have a sub-fatal dose
you
recover without permanent ill effect.
I once had a sub lethal dose, which had the effect of disorientation. We
had
rushed off to the golf course after work and the effect was to double
what
was already a poor score for the course.
Regards
David T

Well, I reckon my 4 year old son must eat about 20 apple pips some days, as
the only bit of an apple he doesn't eat is the woody stalk. He doesn't seem
to suffer any ill effects - I'll be asking him in the morning whether he
chews them up.

Duncan

Davy wrote:
We have just moved into a house with a large garden in Wiltshire and there
seem to be two trees and shrubs bearing ripe plums.

However, I don't want to be poisoned due to incorrect identification. Does
anybody know of a website that provides identification? Are any plum-like
bushes/trees poisonous?

The fruits are round and now ripe.

One plant is bushy, about 10ft high, has oval pointed fine-toothed leaves
about 3cm long. Fruit light-red about size of a cherry. They taste like
plums.

The other is a tree, has oval pointed fine-toothed leaves about 6cm long.
The fruits are bright yellow, twice the size of a cherry. I haven't tried
tasting these.

Oh, you lucky thing. You can put these in pies and crumbles. An
interesting thing (to me) is that they don't seem to be very
susceptible by attacks of creepy-crawlies (notable exception -
some black ones I saw with clear "worm casts" of jelly-like
colourless transparent stuff on the skins).

I suppose you've a crab-apple tree in your garden, which fruit
make such lovely winey jelly to go with roast lamb? Don't tell
me about the elder bush, I'm off to raid the kitchen *right now*.

On Wed, 14 Sep 2005 20:12:28 +0100, Chris Hogg wrote:

Don't eat the kernels!

So what is kirsch made from? I thought it was the cherry kernels.

Pam in Bristol

The message
from Malcolm contains these words:

I had a teacher at school, when I was about 10 or 11, who said that
apple pips were the commonest cause of appendicitis and that we should
either spit them out or chew them up!

Old wives' tale.

--
Rusty
Emus to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

Davy wrote:


The other is a tree, has oval pointed fine-toothed leaves about 6cm long.
The fruits are bright yellow, twice the size of a cherry. I haven't tried
tasting these.

Mirabella plums?

On Thu, 15 Sep 2005 15:18:10 +0100, Michael Calwell fac@fac wrote:

Davy wrote:


The other is a tree, has oval pointed fine-toothed leaves about 6cm long.
The fruits are bright yellow, twice the size of a cherry. I haven't tried
tasting these.

Mirabella plums?

Sounds like the description of the Miralbelles I have had in France.
Delicious. I brought some stones home and have a few small plants on
my allotment. In Switzerland recently, the hotel had bowls of tinned
fruit at breakfast and I think these were the same. Also delicious!

Pam in Bristol

Chris Hogg wrote:
On Wed, 14 Sep 2005 16:35:26 +0100, "david taylor"
wrote:

Don't eat the kernels!
I've worked on a sodium cyanide plant and know the smell, toxicity limits
etc of HCN. The kernels of plums ,apricots etc are used for flavouring jams,
but I read once that some health fiends killed themselves by eating about
40 apple pips(smell the HCN when they are cracked) in a muesli.
The interesting point about cyanide is that if you have a sub-fatal dose you
recover without permanent ill effect.
I once had a sub lethal dose, which had the effect of disorientation. We had
rushed off to the golf course after work and the effect was to double what
was already a poor score for the course.
Regards
David T

Quote from http://www.aboutmead.com/resources/m...9/12-01-99.txt

"Apple seeds average around 0.6 mg hydrogen cyanide (HCN) per gram of
dry seed. Since the lethal dose of HCN is estimated to be about 50 mg,
you need around 85 grams (3 ounces) of dry seeds. This is around half
a cup"

Whether the figures are correct, and whether it takes 40 apple pips to
half-fill a cup, I don't know, but it does suggest that eating a
particularly large number could be lethal.

However, seeds (and leaves) of many prunus species (almonds are the
obvious example) and other rosaceae (such as apples, as here) contain
cyanide precursors. It's what gives almonds their distinct flavour.
But, as with apple pips, you do have to eat rather a lot to be at
risk.



Gasp! I'm one of those apple fiends who eats around 3 to 4 apples each
day pips and all - first of the day chopped up in morning porridge -
(only uneaten residue for compost heap being the little stem).
Is the effect of the HCN cumulative?
Could it explain all sorts of ermm things?
Seriously... should I core my apples?

Cat(h)
The world swirls...